Sliding door guide unit



1960 1:). w. BLACKME'R 2,949,626

SLIDING DOOR GUIDE'UNIT Filed June 20, 1958 M, I INVENTOR. gag? n 1 W21.ZMme/z SLIDING noon GUIDE UNIT Dwight W. Blackmer, Elkhart, Ind.,assignor to Ekco Products Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Filed June 20, 1958, Ser. No. 743,431

8 Claims. (Cl. 1690) This invention relates to sliding door guide unitsadapted to be secured to the floor of a doorway abreast of the paths ofa pair of doors mounted for sliding movement within said doorway betweenopened and closed positions.

It is an object of this invention to provide a guide unit of thecharacter indicated wherein a pair of separate guide members are adaptedto be adjusted toward and away from each other to accommodate doors ofvarying thicknesses.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a guide unit wherein apair of separate guide members are rigidly joined in selected adjustedpositions by means of a single base member from which said guide membersextend in opposite directions.

A further object of this invention resides in the provisions of a guideunit which utilizes metallic body portions to withstand the strains offastening elements applied thereto in operatively mounting the guideunit, and which utilizes friction-free frangible material as a doorengaging surface on said guide unit in such relation to the bodyportions as to be free of the strains of said fastening elements.

A further object is to provide a guide unit of the character indicatedwhich is inexpensive to produce, easy to install and which will provideexcellent serviceability.

Other objects, advantages and meritorious features of the presentinvention will more fully appear from the following claims,specifications and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of a base member as contemplated bythis invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a guide member.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the base member shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the guide member shown in Fig. 2. i

Fig. 5 is a plan View of an assembled guide unit utilizing the basemember and guide members shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and including a dottedline portion to illustrate a second adjusted position of the guidemembers.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a guide unit utilizing a guide member ofshortened dimension.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken along lines 77 of Fig. 6. i i

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged section taken along lines 88 of Fig. 6.

A sliding closure guide unit embodying the features of the presentinvention is illustrated in the drawings in connection with aninstallation wherein a pair of closures, such as doors or panels 10 and11, are mounted in a doorway having a floor line designated by referencenumeral 12.

The guide unit is shown as featuring a base member 13, preferably ofstamped sheet metal construction, having longitudinally extendingopposite side edges 14 and 15 and transversely extending opposite endedges 16 and 17. An ear 18 forming an extension of the side edge 14 andoccupying a position alongside end edge 16 and a similar ear 19 formingan extension of side edge 15 alongside end edge 17 each have an apertureformed therein for the reception of a suitable fastener, such as a screw20, for securing the base member 13 to the doorway floor 12, with theside edges 14 and 15 thereof arranged abreast of the path of the slidingdoors 10 and 11, as shown in Fig. 7.

The body of the base member 13 is offset upwardly from the side edges 14and 15 so as to provide a down wardly open recess 21 of uniformtransverse cross sectional contour throughout the full length of thebase member 13. The recess 21 thus provides a space between theunderside of the base member and the area of the floor 12 oppositethereto and within the confines of the edges 14- and 15 of the basemember to which access may be had from either of the end edges 16 and 17of the base member. As shown in Fig. 7, a tongue 22' is sheared and bentupwardly from the body of the base member 13 so as to occupy a positioncentrally of the path of the door 10 and the path of the door 11 and ata distance from the floor 12 so as to provide a stop having engagementwith the lower marginal portions of the side surfaces of the doors 11and 12 facing said tongue 22. The portion of the tongue 22 thusengageable by the doors 11 and 12 is preferably provided with an outersheath or covering 23 of nylon or other suitable substance capable ofreducing friction as well as protecting the surface of the door fromdamage by abrasion along the line of its engagement with the tongue 22.

A pair of guide membens 24, with which the base member 13 cooperates toform a guide unit as contemplated by this invention, are of identicalshape and size whereby each is interchangeable with the other inassembly with the base member 13. Each guide member 24 is preferably ofstamped sheet metal construction and is formed to provide a shankportion for occupancy in the recess 21 of the base member. Edges 25 and26 extending longitudinally of the shank at opposite sides thereof andthe upper surface of the shank between said edges have interfittingengagement with the surfaces of the recess opposite thereto so as toprevent displacement of the guide member relative to the base member inopposite directions laterally of said edges 25 and 26 of the shankportion. While thus positioned in the recess 21, the lower surface ofthe shank projects downwardly of the lower limits of the base member byvirtue of the relative vertical dimensions of the shank and the recess.Accordingly as screws 20 extending through apertures in the ears 18 and12 of the base member are adjusted into positions effective to anchorthe base in the floor 12 opposite thereto, pressure is applied along theopposite edges 25 and 26 of the shank by the surface of the base memberengaged thereby to grip the shank and to pull it downwardly and therebyhold the guide members and the base member in fixed interconnectedrelation against the underlying surface of the floor 12. The selectedposition of adjustment of the shank of each guide member along its lineof travel into and out of the recess in said base member determines thespacing of the stop tongue 22 on the base member relative to a similarstop tongue 27 extending upwardly from the unconfined end portion of theshank of each guide member. A sheath 28 of nylon or other friction-freematerial, like the sheath 23 on tongue 22, is applied to the tongue 27of each of the guide members. Referring to Fig. 5, the tongues 27 of theguide members 24 are shown in two relative positions, one position beingshown by the solid outline of the tongues 27 and the dotted outline ofthe tongues 27 indicating a second position wherein the space betweenthe tongue 22 on the base member and each of the tongues 27 is greaterthan in the first position. It will therefore be seen that, in either ofsaid positions, the tongue 22 and one of said tongues 27 providecooperating stops with which a sliding door of a thickness conforming tothe spacing of said tongues 22 and 27 is engaged and thereby guided atits lower margins between open and closed positions of said door, whilethe tongue 22 and the other tongue 27 provide a similar pair of stopswith which a second sliding door of a thickness corresponding to thespacing between said stops is engaged and guided in the same manner asthe first sliding door.

In order to further resist unintentional displacement of the guidemembers from a selected position of adjustment or spacing of saidtongues 27 relative to tongue 22, the shank of each guide member isprovided with a series of indentations spaced apart lengthwise of eachof its opposite side edges 25 and 26 to define a series of teeth 31}which cooperate with teeth 29 defined by similar indentations formedalong surface portions of the base member 13 opposite said edges 25 and26 of the guide member shank.

The shank of each guide member is scored as at 31 to define a transverseline along which the shank may be conveniently divided so as to shortenits dimension lengthwise of its side edges. By so shortening the shank,it is possible to advance the shank into the recess of the base member adistance compatible with locating the tongue 27 against the end edge ofthe base member 13 opposite thereto, as shown in Fig. 6.

It will be seen from the drawings that one of the side edges of theshank of each guide member thus extending beyond the score line 31 iscut away along a line 32 extending medially of the opposite side edges25 and 26, and that each of the guide members thereby have matingengagement along said line 32 in installations as depicted in Fig. 5.Such mating engagement along lines parallel to the line of engagement ofthe base member with the opposite side edges of the shank of each guidemember provides added protection against accidental displacement of eachguide member relative to the other when in a selected adjusted position.

It will be observed that by providing a base member and guide members ofmetal construction which are capable of absorbing strains impartedthereto in establishing a fastened connection thereof against the floor12, and by confining the application of the relatively frangiblematerial of the sheath to portions of the metal parts remote from suchstrains, a door guide unit embodying the features of this inventionreadily meets the requirements of a strong and sturdy installation.

I claim:

1. In a sliding door guide unit, the combination of a base member havinglongitudinally extending opposite side edges and transversely extendingopposite end edges, means for securing said base member to the floor ofa doorway with the side edges thereof abreast of the path of a slidingdoor operatively associated with said doorway, a pair of guide memberswith which said base member cooperates to join said guide members atfixed adjusted position in opposite directions from said base memberalong a line extending lengthwise of said side edges of the base member,each of said guide members comprising a metal strip having an upwardlybent tongue at one end thereof and a shank portion defined by the areaof the strip between said tongue and the other end thereof, a first stopextending upwardly from said base member, a sheath of friction-freesynthetic resinous material in which the upper end of the tongue of oneof said guides is enclosed to provide a second stop which in cooperationwith said first stop provides a pair of related guides with which asliding door travelling at one side of said first stop is engageable,and a similar sheath in which the upper end of the'tongue on the otherguide member is similarly enclosed to define a third stop which incooperation with said first stop provides a pair of related guides withwhich a sliding door travelling at the other side of said first stop isengageable.

2. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said basemember presents a downwardly open recess between the side edges thereofin which the shank portion of said guide members have occupancy, saidshank portions and the surfaces of the recess having interengaging meansformed integrally therewith to lock said shank portions at selectedpositions inwardly of said recess.

3. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said basemember presents a downwardly open recess between the opposite side edgesthereof which is coterminous with the opposite end edges of the basemember in which the shank portion of each guide member has occupancy.

4. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 3, wherein the shankportion of each guide member includes a first section havinglongitudinally extending opposite side edges for seated engagement withsi'i'rfaces of the recess extending lengthwise of the side edges of thebase member, and a second section forming an inner extension of saidfirst section having an inwardly offset side edge coincident with a linedrawn medially of the side edges of the first section to accommodateinterengagement of each guide member with the other along said inwardlyoffset side edges when the shank portion of each guide member isadvanced into said recess a distance more than half the length of saidrecess.

5. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein means forsecuring said base member to the floor of a doorway includes a pair ofintegral ears extending outwardly from opposite side edges of the base.

6. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein said guidemembers are interchangeable.

'7. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the edgesof the shank of each guide member facing in the direction of the sideedges of the base member are provided with a series of notches, and thesurfaces of the base member recess facing said edges of the shank areprovided with projections with which the notches on the shank areselectively engageable to position the second and third stops atpredetermined distances away from said first stop.

8. In a sliding door guide unit according to claim 1, wherein the shankportion of each guide member is divided by a score line to facilitateshortening of its dimension measured lengthwise of the side edges of thebase member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS TaylorJunell, 1889 Stanley: page 163, volume 77, No. 11 of American Builder(Magazine), November 1955. (Copy in Sci entific Library and in Div. 20,16-90.)

